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Monday, September 29, 2014

The wait is over. Cruise to the Edge announced the first bands to be booked for their third outing. The Norwegian Pearl will set sail on November 15 for a four day cruise with progressive music, meet & greets and some island hoping.Departing from Miami, Florida, the first stop will be Key West, also in Florida, then will visit a pristine Private Island in the Bahamas.

This year you will also be invited to a complimentary Pre-Cruise Concert & Party (November 14) featuring a special Progressive Artist to be announced.The first batch of artists announced to join the cruise are:Yes (UK)Allan Holdsworth (UK)Caravan (UK)Bigelf (US)Anathema (UK)Banned from Utopia (US)Messenger (UK)Lifesigns (UK)IO-Earth (UK)Airbag (Norway)Nektar (UK)andJolly (US)Second set of artists announced to join (UPDATE: October 20, 2014):Barracuda Triangle (Sweden)Moon Safari (Sweden)Änglagård (Sweden)Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) (Italy)For more info on how and where to book your cruise:http://cruisetotheedge.com

Friday, September 26, 2014

United Progressive Fraternity recently announced the release of their debut album Fall In Love With The World for the 24th of November, 2014 in the US. The release will arrive as a jewel case CD and digital download.

The full track-listing can be found below:1. We Only Get One World (Overture)2. Choices3. Intersection4. The Water5. Don't Look Back - Turn Left6. Travelling Man (The Story Of ESHU)7. Fall In Love With The World8. Religion Of War9. The Water (Alternative Mix) (CD only)You can check out a video for the track The Water featuring Jon Anderson (Yes) here: http://youtu.be/Fz2nYmeG7R0Formed from the ashes of respected Australian progressive rockers Unitopia, the band sees Matt Williams, Dave Hopgood, Tim Irrgang & Mark 'Truey' Trueack joined by Guy Manning (Manning, The The Tangent), Daniel Mash (Maschine, The Tangent), & Marek Arnold (Toxic Smile, Seven Steps to the Green Door, Cyril, Flaming Row). The forthcoming album also features guest appearances from Jon Anderson of Yes, as well as Steve Hackett of Genesis.The band will embark on their first live dates later this year, starting with Summer's End Festival in the UK and continuing into Europe in October.The full list of dates can be found below:27th September 2014 - Summer's End Festival, Chepstow - England2nd October 2014 - The Barge Antipode, Paris - France3rd October 2014 - Poppodium Nieuwe Nor, Heerlen - Netherlands4th October 2014 - Chez Paulette, Nancy - France5th October 2014 - T Blok, Nieuwekerk Aan Deijsel - Netherlands7th October 2014 - Blues Café Nieuwstraat 74A, Apeldoorn - Netherlands10th October 2014 - The Bedford Balham, London - England11th October 2014 - The Wesley Arts Centre, Maltby - England12th October 2014 - Cathouse, Glasgow - ScotlandLook out for more information in the coming weeks!United Progressive Fraternity online:www.facebook.com/UPFrathttp://www.unitedprogressivefraternity.com/

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

London-based progressive metallers Haken recently announced the release of theRestoration EP on October 27, 2014 (US digital release date: November 11), coinciding with their UK & Ireland tour with label mates Leprous & Maschine. Now the band are pleased to reveal a brand new video for the track Darkest Light taken from that EP, and you can view that here:

Restoration is comprised of three reworked and updated songs which originally appeared on their 2007/08 self-produced demo, and the release has been mixed & mastered by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios. It will be released as a digital download, and a vinyl LP including CD.

The track list and playing times are as follows:1. Darkest Light (6:44)2. Earthlings (7:52)3. Crystallised (19:23)The final track is a no holds barred epic including guest 'cameo' appearances by Pete Rinaldi (Headspace) and Mike Portnoy (Transatlantic / Flying Colors).The vinyl with CD is now available to pre-order from Burning Shed: https://www.burningshed.com/store/InsideOutMusic/product/523/6122/The band also recently announced a run of UK & Irish dates with label-mates Leprous & Maschine for later this year. This will be the band's biggest run of dates in their own country yet and they can be found below:Haken, Leprous & Maschine:Presented by Prog Magazine23rd October, 2014 - London, The Garage24th October, 2014 - Leamington Spa, Assembly26th October, 2014 - Bristol, The Fleece27th October, 2014 - Wolverhampton, Robin 229th October, 2014 - Dublin, The Village30th October, 2014 - Liverpool, O2 Academy 231st October, 2014 - Manchester, Club Academy1st November, 2014 - Edinburgh, The Liquid Room2nd November, 2014 - York, The DuchessHaken online:www.hakenmusic.comwww.twitter.com/Haken_Officialhttp://www.facebook.com/HakenOfficial

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Generation Prog Records is proud to announce the long-awaited 2nd album by Cea Serin: The Vibrant Sound of Bliss and Decay is set to be released worldwide on October 6, 2014. An album ten years in the making, this collection features five songs with a total playing time of 48 minutes, sharing a sound and atmosphere that belies the songs' vastly different origins.

The first two tracks on The Vibrant Sound of Bliss and Decay are new recordings of two long-time staples of the Cea Serin live set: Holy Mother and The Illumination Mask, previously featured on the long-unavailable Chiaroscuro demo and often requested by fans for inclusion on a proper album. After drummer Rory Faciane joined the band, it was decided to grant the fans their wish and revisit these songs with better recording quality and a real drummer instead of the previously used drum machine.

The third track, a cover of the Sarah McLachlan song Ice, serves as a link between the revisited and the brand-new material. It features an original Cea Serin arrangement, turning the acoustic guitar ballad into a haunting, piano-backed piece, putting Jay Lamm's clean vocals front and center and showcasing a different side of the band.

The Victim Cult is a brand-new track. „It deals with the castigation of the creators by the people content in sitting back in languor, judging and claiming a right to the services from the very people they’ve vilified,“ says Jay Lamm, composer and lyricist of all four of the album's originals. The song features a unique structure with two distinct choruses that lead into each other, with their order reversed at the end.

The album closes with the 20-minute epic What Falls Away, a song that deals with the suicide of a girl and how it impacts her family – her parents, who are trying to make sense of the events and what might have led to them, and her brother, who suffers from a mental disorder and cannot comprehend what has happened and why his life has changed.

The CD comes with a 12-page booklet containing the lyrics to all songs and Jay Lamm's comments on them.

The Vibrant Sound of Bliss and Decay is out on October 6 via Generation Prog Records. The album is available now for pre-order from the Generation Prog Records store. Stream the album in its entirety on Bandcamp. Cea Serin is one of the participating artists on the upcoming Progstravaganza: Beyond Frontiers sampler, with the song The Victim Cult. The compilation is availably for pre-order from Progify store.

Monday, September 22, 2014

Gentle Giant is delighted to present its first ‘official’ live recording since 1976 Playing the Fool Live. Titled Gentle Giant Live at the Bicentennial, the recording was taken from a concert on July 3rd 1976 at the Calderone Theater, Hempstead, Long Island, which was broadcast for local radio station WLIR.

This concert has been previously released as a bootleg, but incomplete and with lower quality. There are no overdubs or other enhancements on this very live recording. It features Gentle Giant unedited, uninhibited and unrepentant.

The concert features the best-remembered music from past recordings as well as rare songs from the album Interview which the band was supporting at that time.

Gentle Giant Live at the Bicentennial 1976 is a 2-CD set release available everywhere from November 18th onwards on Alucard Music.

The higher-quality recording used on the CD was donated by Rich Hilton to Alucard Music, from the broadcast on WLIR radio that Rich remastered.

The original artwork is by Ray Shulman, and Carl Glover (Aleph Studios) made it print worthy.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

British prog band Lifesigns needs you to help them record a live DVD this autumn. Pledge with them and be a part of making this come true.Band members John Young, Nick Beggs, and Martin Beedle have turned to PledgeMusic because, as they say "it makes a connection between fan and band, you can actually say you helped someone record an album, or fund a tour or pay for a music DVD!"Over three nights in or near London Lifesigns is going to record a live DVD before a very select audience of specially invited fans.Read all about how you can make this happen here: http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/lifesignsdvd

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Jolly is very excited to announce that many more shows have been added to our tour withBigElf and Bend Sinister this fall in Europe. Remember, BigElf will be joined by Mike Portnoy for selected shows and John Wesley of Porcupine Tree for the entire tour. Here is the full list of dates with ticket links:

Rock Band Needs Place to StayDo you live in or nearby one of these cities, and are able to host Jolly for a night while we're on tour? We're looking for places to stay, and what better place than a fan's house! If so, visit www.jollyband.com/givejollyshelter and fill out the submission form.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Following in their tradition of releasing a live album after each studio album, Mike Portnoy, Neal Morse, Roine Stolt and Pete Trewavas are set to release a live CD/DVD/BluRay documenting Transatlantic's Kaleidoscope Tour.KaLIVEoscope, to be made available in a variety of formats, including deluxe 3CD/BluRay, on October 27 via InsideOut documents two European shows in particular. The video was shot in Cologne, Germany, while the audio CDs were recorded in Tilburg, Netherlands.Tracklists of KaLIVEoscope:

DVD 11. Into the Blue 2. My New World3. Shine4. The Whirlwind Medley5. Beyond the Sun6. Kaleidoscope7. Neal / Roine Duet8. We All Need Some Light9. Black as the Sky10. Medley: All of the Above / Stranger in Your SoulDVD 21. Into The Kaleidoscope documentary 2. Band Interviews3. Bonus Live Performances:a) Nights In White Satin (Live in Tilburg)b) Sylvia (with Thijs van Leer - Live in Tilburg)c) Hocus Pocus (with Thijs van Leer - Live in Tilburg)

CD 11. Into the Blue2. My New World3. ShineCD 21. The Whirlwind Medley2. Beyond the Sun3. KaleidoscopeCD 31. Neal / Roine Duet2. We All Need Some Light3. Black as the Sky4. Nights in White Satin5. Sylvia6. Hocus Pocus7. Medley: All of the Above / Stranger in Your Soul

Monday, September 15, 2014

Progressive rock quartet from Austin, TX, The Aaron Clift Experiment, have launched a Kickstarter crowd funding campaign to support the recording and release of their second studio album.Earlier in January, the band started writing new songs that will be part of the still untitled sophomore studio effort, and they are aiming to start the recording process in January 2015. The band commented:

"We have a very exciting set of songs ready to record in January 2015, and we need your help to raise the money to make this vision a reality."

In June 2010, The Aaron Clift Experiment released Lonely Hills, an album that was very well received from the progressive rock community and media. In 2013, Prog Magazine named The Aaron Clift Experiment as one of the top unsigned acts of the year.On the creative process for the upcoming album, the band says:

"The music for The Aaron Clift Experiment's second album is our richest, most expressive to date. Our new music hits harder and deeper than anything we've done before, and with the added benefit of doubling our recording budget from our debut album to our second album and having Blue October bassist, Matt Noveskey, produce and record the album in his state-of-the-art Orb Recording Studios, the end result is going to be a high-quality classic progressive rock album."

Friday, September 12, 2014

Dave Kerzner, former member of the Progressive Rock band Sound of Contact, is gearing up for a late October release of his debut solo concept album, New World. The first single off the album, Stranded, has just been released as a digital download from iTunes®, Amazon®, Google Play® and other on line stores.Stranded is a 10 minute "rock opera" comprised of 5 parts. It features Kerzner on vocals and keyboards with special guests Steve Hackett of Genesis, Durga McBroom of Pink Floyd, Nick D'Virgilio of Spocks Beard, Jason Scheff of Chicago and it was mixed by legendary engineer Tom Lord-Alge.A shorter edited version called Stranded Part 1 - Isolation has been made as a "mainstream radio-friendly single" and will be available as a free download to anyone who signs up on the mailing list at davekerzner.com this month.Additionally, the full length album version will be made available through Kerzner's bandcamp page: http://sonicelements.bandcamp.com/Listen to Stranded here:For more information: http://www.davekerzner.comFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/davesquidskerznerTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/davekerzner

Yesterday evening Prog Magazine unveiled the winners of the 3rd AnnualProg Music Awards. This year the awards were presented at the Underglobe venue beneath Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London.And the winners are:

Monday, September 8, 2014

Following the release of Haken's critically acclaimed album The Mountain last year, plus plenty of touring and even three nominations at this year's Progressive Music Awards, the London-based progressive metallers are extremely pleased to announce the release of the digital-only Restoration EP in the US on the 11th of November 2014.Restoration is comprised of three reworked and updated songs which originally appeared on their 2007/08 self-produced demo, and the release has been mixed & mastered by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios.Vocalist Ross Jennings explains: 'Redoing a few of our favourite tracks from the demo is something we've talked about doing for ages and the fans have been asking for it constantly. We were also excited about working creatively with our new bassist Conner Green, so this seemed like the perfect way to welcome him aboard.'Guitarist Charlie Griffiths continues: 'merely re-recording the demo songs would have felt musically redundant and dishonest, since three of us didn't play on the original recordings. The band's sound has evolved considerably in the last few years so we used the demo tracks as a starting point and gave ourselves free reign to reimagine them and make them relevant to who we are today. These are now the definitive versions and we couldn't be happier with how they turned out'.

The track list and playing times are as follows:1. Darkest Light (6:44)2. Earthlings (7:52)3. Crystallised (19:23)The final track is a no holds barred epic including guest 'cameo' appearances by Pete Rinaldi (Headspace) and Mike Portnoy (Transatlantic / Flying Colors).The band also recently announced a run of UK & Irish dates with label-mates Leprous & Maschine for later this year. This will be the band's biggest run of dates in their own country yet and they can be found below:Haken, Leprous & Maschine (Presented by Prog Magazine):23rd October, 2014 - London, The Garage24th October, 2014 - Leamington Spa, Assembly26th October, 2014 - Bristol, The Fleece27th October, 2014 - Wolverhampton, Robin 229th October, 2014 - Dublin, The Village30th October, 2014 - Liverpool, O2 Academy 231st October, 2014 - Manchester, Club Academy1st November, 2014 - Edinburgh, The Liquid Room2nd November, 2014 - York, The DuchessHaken online:www.hakenmusic.comwww.twitter.com/Haken_Officialhttp://www.facebook.com/HakenOfficial

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Bad Elephant Music is pleased to announce the opening of pre-orders for World Turned Upside Down, the much-anticipated album release from Salford's finest, Trojan Horse - now available to pre-order on CD and digital download from Bad Elephant Music's sales site.Marking a significant progression from their eponymous debut, World Turned Upside Down was "conceived on a nourishing diet of Robert Wyatt ‘Rock Bottom’, Soft Machine ‘Volume 2’, a new found appreciation of dub reggae, the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Elliott Smith, Earth Wind & Fire ‘I Am’, Parenthood, Tears For Fears ‘Songs From The Big Chair’, Cardiacs, and social injustice".The album captures much of the excitement of Trojan Horse's captivating live shows, and is a must-have for any lover of impossible-to-categorise music as well as rock fans everywhere.

Devin Townsend is extremely pleased to announce the long-awaited new double-album Z² on October 28 in the U.S. and October 27 in Europe. The Z² project will also see him play a landmark show at London's legendary Royal Albert Hall on April 13, 2015.

Tickets are available for this enormous show from www.kililive.com and Devin had this to say:

"Hey all!

So it's been years I've been trying to get the energies in line to do another Ziltoid record, and it's finally happened! Z2 is my new record, and it's a multimedia event that has taken a ton of people a ton of effort to bring to you! It's a double album, (one side DTP, and one side Ziltoid) and the concept expands on Ziltoid the alien, and his sci-fi adventures in a way that kind of throws back to 50's radio plays... but obviously with complicated, heavy music as its soundtrack. It has taken a great deal of energy to put this all together, and the music is just one of the aspects of it. It's a dream come true in a lot of ways, and I'm excited and honoured to be able to finalize the project with a live version of the entire record at the famous Royal Albert Hall in London on April 13th of next year! (!!) Basically what we did with The Retinal Circus a few years back will be taken to the next level with Z2 live.

At the end of this process, we reached for the stars, and hopefully got to the moon, and after this album cycle, I will be taking some time to recharge my batteries and see what the next chapter holds. I hope you enjoy this record and all its offshoots, as one of my goals is to hopefully inspire folks to reach for unconventional ways to express themselves as well. We couldn't have done it without you! See you at the show?"

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Moraine's long-anticipated third CD for MoonJune Records, Groundswell, marks a major step forward for the shape-shifting Seattle-based instrumental juggernaut. Engineered by legendary Pacific Northwest producer Steve Fisk, Groundswell is the first Moraine release to fully exploit the creative possibilities of the recording studio, resulting in a dramatic sonic experience with plenty of surprises. Consisting largely of previously unreleased material, including pieces written for Moraine by composers Daniel Barry and Jon Davis, Groundswell is certain to cement the band’s standing as a singular voice like no other in the progressive jazz-rock continuum.Led by seasoned guitarist Dennis Rea and featuring ace instrumentalists Alicia DeJoie (violin), James DeJoie (woodwinds), Kevin Millard (bass), and new drummer Tom Zgonc, Moraine quickly built a reputation as one of the most original instrumental rock bands anywhere, winning over listeners around the globe with its unique amalgam of art rock, forward-thinking jazz, Asian-inspired music, and more.With a distinctive repertoire balancing rigorously composed passages with exploratory improvisation, Moraine has captivated audiences with memorable performances at most of North America’s major progressive-rock showcases, including NEARfest and Baja Prog. The band’s previous releases for MoonJune Records, manifest deNsity and Metamorphic Rock, garnered hundreds of glowing reviews worldwide and earned the band a diverse following ranging from jazz aficionados to metal heads to world-music enthusiasts.

Everybody knows about the upcoming Genesis documentary Genesis: Together and Apart, reuniting the classic Seventies lineup of the band. But one person that won't be part of the interviewees is one of its founding members, Anthony Phillips.Although he had been interviewed when the remastered and enhanced (5.1 dolby) back catalogue was released, the segments were short and interlaced with other interviews.Cherry Red TV, part of the Cherry Red record label, has posted on Youtube what is possibly the most in depth interview Anthony Phillips has ever done, discussing his time with Genesis and his long solo career as a recording artist and composer. The interviewer is Mark Powell, and it was done in anticipation of Cherry Red's release of an Anthony Phillips anthology called Harvest of the Heart. Each segment is about an hour long, so enjoy.Part I:

Part II:

Harvest of the Heart, a 5 CD boxset, will be released on October 27, 2014 via Cherry Red Records. It will feature music from 1969 to now, plus ten previously unreleased tracks including the unreleased 1973 recording Silver Song (featuring Phil Collins as vocalist) and the rare track Compression by Mike Rutherford, (previously unreleased on CD) which features Anthony and was the B-side to Mike’s 1980 single Working in Line.Order Harvest of the Heart here: http://www.cherryred.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=4870

Pre-pre orders started last week on the new album by The Tangent.A Spark In The Aether won't be out until 2015, but here's your chance to get involved early, hear work in progress and help the band carry out their work. Also available is the pre-order of Andy Tillison's side project Multiplex!!Says Andy Tillison:

"This is an album that seeks to return to the core of what The Tangent means to me... after our big orchestral opus that we delivered in Le Sacre Du Travail we're, to an extent, reining in the instrumentation to the 5 piece electric Prog Rock band and focussing a little more on that all-important second word of the genre name 'Rock'. At least for the first half!"

I think there's an element of it being The Music That Died Alone 2. A lot of the subject matter in the lyrics to the first few songs is revisiting the state of Progressive Rock 12 years after the original album was made. That's obviously been a big big change. There's no apparent sign of the music being dead at all... but I still feel we have dangers and that we're not out of the woods yet. We all have a part to play in the development of this genre and becoming stilted and over safe is not the way to play this game. We need to support the younger guys as much as possible."

The musicians lined up for the project are:Andy Tillison Diskdrive: Keyboards & VocalsLuke Machin: GuitarJonas Reingold: Bass GuitarTheo Travis: Saxes & FlutesMorgan Agren: DrumsAnd there will likely be a couple of nice guest appearances on the album too.

Visit www.thetangent.org to make your order! And remember that The Tangent album will be available at normal pricings nearer the time of release. This is really for the Mega Fans who want to take part.

About the IPRS

Prog World is broadcast every Saturday at 8 PM GMT on http://www.rivergibbsfm.com/, and repeated on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays.
Artist or promoter submitions are welcome. E-mail to find out where to send CDs and promotional material.